Critical interpretation and meaning in works of prose fiction, representing a variety of types and periods.
The main goal of this class is to promote an understanding and appreciation of the techniques involved in crafting fictional narratives. How do authors artfully combine clusters of details and motifs in order to conjure up in their readers’ minds credible literary characters? How does a storyteller’s use of particular words affect the readers’ perception of the events in a narrative? Why would an author decide to inform his or her readers of certain narrative events first before he or she discloses other important information about the characters and their actions? In order to draw course participants into discussing these questions, I have decided to include in the course readings one award winning young-adult novel: Aidan Chambers’ Postcards from No Man’s Land. We will proceed to apply the analytical techniques we master in discussing this novel covering topics close to the course participants’ interests to Simon Mower’s The Glass Room. The secondary goal of this course is to engage course participants in analyzing the role of architectural structures in narrative texts. How do fictional narratives represent the conflict between the orderly logical design of a building and the actual use and experience of it? Other issues covered in the course readings include: Architectural Modernism, the Second World War and its legacy, memory, and sexuality.
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